Summer trends saw runways and boutiques chock-full of delicate stitching and embroidery techniques, pom-pom embellishments, and bejeweled bangles — all of which are carrying over into fall. But these trends aren’t exclusive to the West.

Age-old designs, cuts, and prints of the Southeast Asian countries—including Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh—have recently crossed over to the U.S., taking over well-loved summer and fall trends.

“A lot of block printing,” said Rupa Singh, owner of local mobile boutique, Love This RVA. “And a lot of hand-stitching on top of block-printed dresses.”

A staple of Southeast Asian wardrobes that exploded on the fashion scene this summer and hasn’t faded yet is the “kurti,” or tunic. These knee-length, loose, flowing lawn tops are everyday wear for the women of Pakistan, India, and other countries in the region. Typically featuring intricate embroidery on the chest and sleeves, “kurtis” dominate Southeast Asian women’s clothing.

“Handmade details,” said Singh when describing traditional Indian clothing. “Whether there’s pleating here or cuffing in the back, it’s only done when something is handmade.”

Wrapping and draping techniques characterize most Southeast Asian suits. The traditional Indian “sari” (also spelled “saree”) consists of a little less than 10 yards of fabric, skillfully wrapped around the body to create a draped skirt-and-top style. Similarly, the Pakistani “salwar,” or pant, and “kameez,” top, two-piece suit combination is commonly worn along with a “dupatta,” or long fabric piece, draped along the chest. These draping and stitching techniques are recalled in Western fashion by skirts, dresses, and tops.

Another Western favorite brought over from the East — paisley prints. Paisley find origins in Kashmir and Persia, over 2,000 years ago. Now, the print typically adorns silky, flowing blouses and will be a staple for fall accessories — especially scarves.

The West has simultaneously adopted accessories as well — dangling hoops and pom-pom details are only the beginning of a list of Eastern-style accessories adorning American models. Particularly appearing on earrings, shoes and occasionally on the trims of tops and pants, pom-pom and tassel details have ornamented Eastern clothing for centuries.

South Asia isn’t the only region Western fashion trend pull inspiration trends from, though. “The [American] streetwear craze is directly Japanese fashion,” said VCU student designer Shana Cave, who traces her roots back to China.

On a recent trip she took to Tokyo, she noticed overwhelming similarities between American streetwear and everyday clothing in Japan. The outrageous proportions and cuts, as well as monochrome looks, have become staples of U.S. streetwear brands such as Supreme and Yeezy Supply.

“Coming back to America and seeing the dad-shoe trend, all the colors in streetwear, the logos, the long lengths and the unfitting clothings,” Cave said. “That’s a very Japanese influence.”

The West has similarly adopted the cultural aspects of other East Asian countries, such as Japanese kimonos, Lao stitching and weaving techniques, and Thai two-piece outfits.

But the Eastern-influenced fashion dates back much further than recent years, according to VCU professor Jackie Mullins.

“It’s something that became much more mainstream in the 1970’s,” Mullins said of Eastern stitching and embroidering techniques. “You see a lot of those Eastern mending techniques taking over during the 70’s, and even earlier.”

Mullins, who teaches the history of contemporary fashion to aspiring student designers, said that while the blending of these cultures into mainstream fashion has become incredibly common, it can come very close to disrespect if executed poorly.

“There’s a very fine line,” Mullins said. “With every iteration [when adopting] clothing there is that fine line of having respect and going over it, and not understanding the meaning of why something might be worn culturally, simply making it into an accessory for beauty. And I think that’s where a lot of the trouble comes from.”

The adoption of Eastern clothing elements that typically have cultural and religious significance, is sometimes met with opposition when true appreciation for the culture and religion at hand is not given — deemed “cultural appropriation.”

“We see it happen on the quite often on the runway,” Mullins said. “Where people just sort of pick something up as a trend, not understanding the cultural meaning behind it.”

Sustainable fashion advocate and photographer Aditi Mayer defines cultural appropriation as “the continuation of misrepresentation, misuse, and theft of the stories, styles, and material heritage of people who have been historically dominated and remain socially marginalized.” The absorption of minority cultures by a dominant culture — typically by means of colonialism, oppression, or other power imbalance — creates a disconnect between the traditional item and how it is re-represented.

For Singh, the latest summer trends have confused her — especially those poorly executed to mimic South Asian and Latin American blouses with floral embroidery across the chest.

“Lately I’ve been seeing those white tunics with brightly embroidered flowers. To me, I feel like it doesn’t make sense,” Singh said. “It’s their actual cultural wardrobe. This is what the women wear [in Latin America] on a regular basis. But then just to pull that out of their culture and just make a shirt that’s maybe a different cut or maybe [minimal] embroidery, just for a trend.”

“There is that voice of the person who made it, ” Singh said of Victoria Road. “There’s this idea that you can wear something that’s made for the Western world and this print is so beautiful and timeless that it [respects] where it came from.”

Cave agreed that the implementation of a lot of these fashion ‘trends’ in the West is not always the most respectful.

“Asia is like this landmine that a lot of people don’t know about,” Cave said. “So if you’re an influencer and you’re interested in it, it’s yours for the taking. It’s like this thing people can steal from without having to credit.”

As a child, Cave said she felt the need to suppress the half of her identity that was Chinese; making the trends that have crossed over from Asia all the more ironic.

“I started wanting to dress more American,” Cave said. “I would go to China and come back with clothing that was Chinese and kids would make fun of me. I was definitely judged for being Asian.”

The best way to navigate the “cultural appropriation” discussion, according to Singh, is simply asking and learning about the meaning behind certain clothing elements.

“Fashion is so far from asking questions of why, who, what,” Singh said. “Most people can identify something that is from another country, but I don’t know if they would care to [ask] — why do they embroider their clothes? Why are their shirts always white? Why are the [garments] all cotton? Why are they cut this way? Everything has a reason.”

Fashion with a bit of Eastern flair is far from leaving the industry. So as the West continues to infuse Eastern elements into everyday clothing, it’s imperative to ask that question — why? Exploring other cultures, and understanding where certain cultural and religious elements come from, is necessary in order to be respectful while also admiring their beauty.

Well-loved Carytown staple Need Supply Co. is expanding its footprint in Richmond, moving its headquarters to a much larger spot in the bustling Scott’s Addition neighborhood.

While the store’s longtime Carytown retail location at 3100 W. Cary St. will remain open, the headquarters shift is a response to the company’s substantial growth in recent years.

“Richmond has an amazing and ever-growing creative community that has been important to our growth over the years,” said Nora Morris, Need Supply Co. special projects manager. “As our business expands, we look forward to continuing to welcome more of those innovators, creators, developers, disruptors and strategic thinkers into each department within the company.”

The esteemed apparel company opened its doors in Richmond back in 1996, selling nothing but vintage Levi’s. Since the launch of its online store in 2008, Need Supply Co. has transformed into a global e-commerce business, offering a variety of clothing, accessories, and home goods for men and women.

While the fashion company is expanding in Richmond, it isn’t the first time its experienced a growth spurt. The company has also expanded with locations in Los Angeles and New York.

The 20,700 square-foot space in Scott’s Addition is located in the former Evatran Group Inc. office, a manufacturer of wireless charging stations for electric motor vehicles, within the HandCraft Cleaners Building at 3301 W. Moore St.

Need Supply’s new spot will allow for more office space and a photo studio, which are being moved from a smaller spot in the neighborhood.

“Although we’ve outgrown our existing Scott’s Addition [office] location, we’re looking forward to continuing to be part of the evolution and revitalization of this neighborhood,” said Christopher Bossola, CEO of Need Supply Co.

Tripling the size of its previous headquarters above its flagship retail shop in Carytown, Need Supply Co. will use the new location to satisfy the company’s increased staff and existing e-commerce photo studio. Finding property large enough to meet Need Supply Co.’s demand for space, however, was not an easy task.

“We had some unusual requirements, such as finding traditional ‘Class A’ office space alongside unfinished warehouse-type space for our photo studio,” Morris said. “The property search, which led us around the city and into surrounding counties, was extensive.”

While the company expands its office and studio teams — including its operations, information technology, human resources, customer service, and photography — the retail operations will not change.

“The relocation was imperative to accommodate additional, planned growth over the next few years,” Bossola said. “While also providing more modern and collaborative workspaces, lounge areas and a substantially larger photo studio for our current teams.”

Need Supply Co. plans to have the new headquarters up and running by the fall.

Confused. Questioning. Hoping for a brand that didn’t pull through. That’s how hundreds of supporters were left when local streetwear clothing brand, Damaged Kids, disappeared back in 2016.

Fueled by creative mind Oliver Bierman of local pop-punk band Broadside, Damaged Kids gained a large following through its direct link to the Richmond pop-punk scene.

Lauren Versino

The brand took off with an unconventional take on streetwear clothing at the time. “Back in 2015, streetwear, in my opinion, had a really big ego,” co-owner Lauren Versino said. “You had to have money, and wearing it had a certain social class statement. It was hard to enter into because it seemed pretentious at times.”

So instead of playing into the showy, pricey streetwear clothing they were used to, Bierman and Versino made simple streetwear designs that in Versino’s words, embodied the idea, “the clothes didn’t make you cool, you made the clothes cool.” As the brand grew larger, Bierman and Versino worked hard to get t-shirts out, covering all of the production costs out-of-pocket. “We did this all ourselves,” Versino said. “We paid for it all ourselves for a long time.”

But as shirts became popular, they sold out quickly, and the two had to make bigger runs – which got more expensive. To find the upfront money, Bierman and Versino created a Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2015 which rolled into early 2016.

In addition to production expenses, the Kickstarter played a role in mobilizing Damaged Kids’ move to Los Angeles, where Bierman and Versino hoped the brand would take off. As the manufacturing capital of the country, L.A. was the place to go to make Damaged Kids bigger than just a Richmond streetwear company. So Bierman and Versino attempted to move the brand to L.A. – but they didn’t get the launch they were hoping for.

“Then we moved [to L.A.] and…nothing happened,” Versino said.

Once Damaged Kids flopped in L.A., the brand struggled to find its footing and not long after that founder and co-owner Bierman ended the company, surprising Versino. “When Damaged Kids ended abruptly [in 2016], I read it on Twitter,” Versino said. “I didn’t know before then. I have as much information as everybody else did when that popped up on the Internet. I just knew all of a sudden I didn’t have a job anymore.”

The struggling company’s sudden ending was a surprise to its co-owner, supporters, and GoFundMe donors. To this day, Versino is still not completely sure why Bierman ended Damaged Kids. Her best guess is the move from Virginia to L.A. was a lot, and maybe at times too much, to handle. The two moved in together in L.A. and Versino thinks the strain it caused on their relationship definitely played a part.

“There was a weirdness after we became roommates,” Versino said. “We had always just been friends, nothing more than that. But he kind of grew distant. We stopped talking a lot even though we shared a space and eventually we had to go our separate ways.”

While Versino isn’t curious to find out why Bierman suddenly ended Damaged Kids, she’s decided to offer her side of the story. Two years later, she is relaunching Damaged Kids to give supporters the answers they didn’t get back in 2016. And this time, the brand is all her own. “It’s just me this time around. I’m in control of the information,” Versino said. “I’d like to turn this shitty story into a good one.” The 27-year-old Virginia native is doing things differently the second time around to make sure Damaged Kids supporters and fans get the products they loved in 2015.

“I always felt it was wrong that those people gave to this GoFundMe and had this expectation that they were going to get all these designs,” Versino said. “They were investing in it…and they never got anything back.” For the Damaged Kids temporary re-launch, Versino is offering five different designs in a multitude of cuts, colors, and price ranges; most of which are reprised of the designs people were familiar with before. And instead of attempting to cover all production costs with her own money, Versino is taking the safer route, using a t-shirt company called “Threadless” for help with manufacturing. Local to Chicago where Versino lives now, Threadless enables artists to easily produce apparel designs, handling the manufacturing, shipping, and customer disputes.

“One of the major things that I took away from my experience with Damaged Kids was understanding the responsibility of saying something to a consumer base and having to follow up on what that is,” Versino said. “Because sometimes, your heart’s bigger than what’s possible at the time. I [know] how wrong something can go when you overpromise and underdeliver.”

Even though the brand will be based out of Chicago this time around, Versino hopes to clear the air with fans of the brand who were disappointed two years ago. And in addition to bringing back well-loved designs, Versino is doing what she and Bierman wanted to do the first time around, by donating a portion of each sale to community organizations.

Back in 2015, Bierman wanted to donate to organizations that helped increase access to mental health tools for everyone, especially young people who might not know where to turn. At the time, the passionate pop-punk singer told RVA Mag the concept behind Damaged Kids came from wanting to support those who are suffering. “I just really wanted to take the idea of [how] right now it feels like the end, but it’s not,” Bierman said. “You’re just damaged, not broken.”

Damaged Kids never made enough profit back in 2015 to be able to donate to any mental health organizations. But now in 2018, Versino projects enough profit off the relaunch to donate a portion of each sale to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an anti-sexual assault organization. Versino made sure to set up the relaunch so her profit would allow her to make donations to RAINN, an organization very close to her. “It’s a service that I’ve had to use in my life. I kept their hotline number in my phone for two months before I actually found a resource to go to therapy,” Versino said. “It gives them [victims of sexual assault] a resource to talk to somebody. I would love to give back, and I wanted to keep that spirit alive with this re-release.”

And despite what supporters may think about the temporary relaunch, Versino said she isn’t in it for the money or out of spite for her ex-business partner. “I just really want [Damaged Kids] to have the ending I think it deserves,” Versino said. “And actually following through with what was promised, even if it’s two years later.”

During his first year as a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rudy Lopez helped orchestrate the largest end-of-year showcase the fashion department has ever seen, held at the Main Street Train Shed. This is a dramatic achievement for Lopez, who, even a year ago, thought working as a professor at VCU was far from likely. After years of failed starts and stints in retail to pay the bills, he’s at the forefront of campus fashion, and branching out city-wide.

This article originally appeared in RVA #33 Summer 2018, you can check out the issue here, or pick it up around Richmond now.

Lopez, originally from the Philippines, grew up in a family of achievers. His father was a doctor, his sister a financial executive; another sister went into the arts and became a sculptor. He came of age during the 1990s East Coast skateboarding scene. Although he loved to draw from his earliest years, he really explored his creative side while playing in bands and traveling to hardcore punk shows in DC. When it came to a career, he wasn’t sure where his many interests and energy would lead.

Lopez took his first shot at college at George Mason University, where he quickly partied his way to academic probation. The summer after his first year, while talking about his future, a friend asked if he could see himself drawing more. Lopez immediately thought, “Yes, of course.” He researched art schools and sent in five drawings to VCU; his journey through art school started that fall, in 1998.

The words of Dean Richard Toscan during orientation shaped him in ways that probably weren’t expected — he still remembers them today: “If you think you are the hot-shot artist in [your] high school, look around; you’re one of 500.”

“I felt way over my head,” Lopez said. “I wasn’t that artist.” Self-fulfilling or not, his prophecy turned out to be right — but something good still came of his struggles through the school’s foundation classes, which he called “art bootcamp.” The summer after that first year, Lopez received an invitation to help out with a fashion show in New York, hosted by Organization for Returning Fashion Interest (ORFI).

“They needed help putting on the fashion show, filling out model sheets, organizing garments, sending invitations; the grunt work,” Lopez said. He hopped a train to New York, where he went 48 hours without any sleep.

“I was surrounded by creatives,” he said. “I felt this overwhelming wave of passion.”

When he returned to VCU, he turned to the fashion department to merge his newfound interest with his desire to be creative. He pursued the Fashion Merchandising track, thinking he could study design later if he wanted. Future internships led him to new contacts in New York and revelations about his career path. After graduation, Lopez attended Parsons School of Design, where he studied fashion graphic design.

From Parsons, he worked his way back to Richmond’s Need Supply Co., where he worked as a store manager before opening Henry, a streetwear shop on Broad Street, in 2006. Although the store earned acclaim, and is seen as the foundation for the current streetwear scene in the Broad Street Arts District, it didn’t survive the economic downturn, closing in 2008.

Lopez was discouraged. “It got to a point where I hated the Richmond fashion scene,” he said. He and his wife decided it was time for a break from the city, returning to Lopez’s native Philippines for about five months. However, he came back for a position at VCU, as a manager at the campus technology store.

While there, an assistant professorship opened up at the Fashion Department in VCU. “They asked me to interview,” Lopez said, and he went for it, despite thinking it was a long shot. Fortunately, he got the job, and said he couldn’t be happier with the work, especially mentoring students like himself who struggle to find their passion.

“I love it — teaching, guiding, and mentoring,” Lopez said. “Looking back at my own path, I always liked giving younger, up-and-coming people advice. I loved helping them and giving them whatever I could.”

He described the team as “a great blend of analytical and creative backgrounds,” looking to “create well-rounded people who can think in a variety of ways.”

Enter Lopez. He hopes to encourage an increasing level of collaboration among departments in the school and with businesses in the community. He says the community is ready for it. “Everyone says, ‘I don’t follow fashion,’ but every single person is dressed,” he said. “You’re part of the cycle.”

During the end-of-year fashion showcase, Lopez invited friends to create music, bringing the community to the campus. Joe Davenport, who performs as DJ Bobby La Beat, laid out live beats.

It’s just a first, small step toward his goal of uniting different communities. “Collaboration this year is not as extensive as I would like,” he said. “When you look at the production of a fashion show, there are so many elements: we have music we need to curate, the Department of Theater could create backdrops for the fashion show, there’s opportunity to work more closely with the designers as they create their collections.”

The physical impact of his presence could be seen in the innovative runway design for the 2018 showcase. The venue selection gave students space to create a runway that welcomed three times as many guests compared to previous years. Compared to a typical 70-foot runway, Lopez said, this year’s runway snaked through the train shed for nearly 500 feet.

“People were caught off guard when I said the fashion show could be bigger,” Lopez said, about an event that was already dramatically larger than prior ones. “It could be bigger not even in terms of people, but to be inclusive of people outside of VCUArts and fashion.”

Ultimately, he does this work because he wants the next generation of fashion students to be as proud of Richmond as he is. He said his work is “a reflection of how proud I feel graduating from the school, and the students coming after me.”

These blurbs originally appeared in the Mass Appeal section of RVA #33 Summer 2018. You can check out the issue here, or pick it up around Richmond now.

University of Richmond Grad Launches Gender Fluid Brand

University of Richmond isn’t exactly known for its fashion program, at least not in comparison to VCU, but Kadeem Fyffe made it work. Fyffe started as a journalism major, seeking a well-rounded liberal arts education, but soon shifted to Studio Arts to study fashion, which led to a semester abroad in Milan where he’d work on the opening of Milan Fashion Week.

Fyffe would go on to study at Parsons School of Design and design for Michael Kors, but his biggest achievement was the launch of his own label, Muxe. “I wanted to start a brand that embodies and has a political component to it,” he said. “It’s important for people who are creative to have a voice or platform to speak out and express your beliefs.”

Fyffe’s gender-fluid label features t-shirts of different lengths, with various statements and designs. Some of them are almost politically wonkish, such as his #SAYTHE7 tee, which features a row of the seven words the Trump Administration asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to use any more.

Fyffe will release an extended collection this summer featuring crop tops and tanks. By Spring 2019, Muxe will roll out a more complete collection of men’s skirts and unisex pants, along with more statement tees.

“I wanted to start off slow,” Fyffe said. “I plan to keep my finger on the pulse and release items that are expressive at just the right time.”

See the full collection at muxenewyork.com.

Pretty Powerful Exhibit Elevates Current and 19th Century Richmond Fashion

From the inaugural ball gown worn by First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam in 2017 to silk gowns designed in 1875, The Valentine’s current fashion exhibit features an inclusive and thoughtful collection of clothing from female designers, tastemakers, and boutiques.

Current designers and boutique owners including Rupa Singh of Love This, Bella Weinstein of Handyma’am, and Deborah Boschen of Verdalina received their own spot in the story woven by The Valentine’s curators. One display case features 10 designs from Maxwell Reid, who creates wearable art in her home in the Fan District today.

“A well-crafted wardrobe acts as a highly visible performance of identity,” reads a placard in the exhibit, introducing a series of outfits and pieces worn around the region during the past century.

Pieces like a 1948 gingham playsuit and 1960s Vera Maxwell ensembles created for former Thalhimers Vice President Elizabeth Bauder are displayed with detailed stories and quotes about how the garments were made, who wore them where, and how they fit into Richmond’s cultural history. Bauder’s story, for example, chronicles her rise up the Thalhimers corporate ladder from copywriter to Fashion Coordinator, to Vice President and Director of Sale Promotions.

Visit the exhibit between now and January 27, 2019. Learn more at thevalentine.org.

Rising University of Richmond Junior Zach Ryan Grows Fashion Start-Up

Zach Ryan has been founding fashion startups since he was 15. It all started when the Connecticut native spent a summer in Nantucket.

“I saw all these startups by college kids,” he said. “I saw that it wasn’t just about clothing. It was about a lifestyle, building your own world. I did more research and got to know the founders of some of these brands. They inspired me to start my own clothing brand at a young age.”

Ryan just finished his sophomore year at the University of Richmond. At 21, he’s started four companies, one of which he sold in high school for five figures. His namesake clothing brand, Zach Ryan, is one of his most recent ventures. The collection features polos, henleys, and cardigans with a coastal New England aesthetic.

“Ultimately, this combines everything I love into one melting pot: design, sketching, photography, expressing yourself, sharing it with the world,” he said.

Thanks to connections from his internships, Ryan works with manufacturers and factories used by Tommy Hilfiger, Armana, and H&M. The high-quality garments are sold online, with more than 90 percent of his business coming from Instagram, Ryan said. The University of Richmond Bookstore also carries Zach Ryan pieces. Ryan is working to develop custom collections for more bookstores on college and boarding school campuses.

As for what’s next, Ryan says he will release a new shirt design this summer. He’s also working on developing a new app.

I walked into Franco’s Fine Clothier earlier this week to a bright-eyed, smiling Franco Ambrogi greeting me at the door. At 78 years old, the owner of the Richmond fashion institution has a surprising reserve of energy for a rainy Monday morning. His heavy accent courtesy of his native Tuscany was nothing short of welcoming and warm, as he showed me around his store.

Ambrogi spends every day of the week in his high-fashion men’s clothing store on Lakeside Avenue, helping men of every age find the perfect suit, tailoring outfits, and simply making people feel at home. And every person who walks into his store is greeted like an old friend.

The dapperly dressed businessman started tailoring on his own out of his house in the late 60s, for what would be the launching pad of his future business, but Ambrogi’s work in the fashion industry began much earlier.

“I started sewing in the house with my mother when I was six years old,” Ambrogi said. “It was something I enjoyed doing. I love creating things.”

Born in Tuscany, Italy in 1940, Ambrogi eventually left primary school to work as a coat maker in a tailor shop at 10 years old. He made his way to Richmond at 16, leaving Italy to create a future for himself.

“There was not really an opportunity [in Italy] for any young people who wanted to better themselves,” Ambrogi said. “I was very eager to better myself for a simple reason. When I was a young child, I was very hungry many nights. World War II was difficult.”

After moving to Richmond, Ambrogi worked for a few years in another tailor shop, and then the long-shuttered department store, Thalhimers. In efforts to refine his business and fashion skills, he started working for upscale clothing retailer, Berry-Burk, five years later.

But Ambrogi’s extensive labor in service and retail didn’t live up to everything he expected to accomplish with his skills. He wanted to do more. And with three children by 1967, Ambrogi needed to do more for his family. At the time, he was working at Berry-Burk by day, and doing custom tailoring and alterations from home by night.

“I was so interested in business and fashion, it wasn’t enough for me to just work in a store or a shop,” Ambrogi said. “So finally, my wife and I decided to go into business. She’s the one who actually pushed me.”

In 1972, Ambrogi and his wife, Ruth, took the tailoring services out of their garage and into the city, opening Franco’s Custom Tailor Shop on Dumbarton Avenue.

Building his clientele at his brick and mortar store from the clients he used to tailor outfits for from his home, and three years later, Ambrogi’s business was booming, offering ready-to-wear and custom-made pieces, along with shoes, ties, accessories, tailoring services, in-house alterations, personal appointments, and more. A tailor at heart, Ambrogi adores every chance he gets to help his customers look their best.

“I love people, I really do,” Ambrogi said. “I love to mingle with them, show items to them, do fittings. I enjoy making sure everything’s done the way they want it.”

Once Ambrogi introduced European styles to Richmond, his small storefront was bursting at the seams. Renamed Franco’s Fine Clothier, Ambrogi’s store has since expanded to a 35,000 square-foot store, now its flagship, on Lakeside Avenue complete with a marble-floored rotunda loosely modeled after the Galleria in Milan, Italy.

“We decided to go to European models,” Ambrogi said. “That’s when our business just went crazy.” Indeed. Since doing so, Franco’s has expanded with locations in Short Pump, and most recently, a location in Chesterfield, turning this once small tailoring shop into a multi-million dollar business.

Ambrogi takes credit for bringing iconic European fashion to a bland Richmond fashion scene in the early 1970s.

“Back in the 60s’ and 70s’, ‘[Richmond’s] clothing was very conservative, very non-descript. Everybody looked alike,” Ambrogi said. “Nobody has a sense of so-called ‘fashion’.”

Franco’s brought brands like Canali, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, and Hugo Boss along with European trends, such as French-style cufflinks and tuxedos.

“Everything we had at that time, [in the 70s-80s], we were the first to have it,” Ambrogi said. “[The trends] that very few people wore, we pushed [those]. Fancy cufflinks with tuxedos, leisure suits and casual wear.”

Being the first major retailer of European brands in Richmond was enough to build Ambrogi’s dedicated clientele. But as more stores started selling the same brands and incorporating European trends, Ambrogi had to introduce new ideas to sustain his brand in Richmond’s fast-moving fashion industry.

“I do have some difficult times with some of the fashion, I really do,” Ambrogi said. “But I get used to it pretty quickly. It’s very important for the business to [keep up with] what the fashion is.”

To keep Franco’s Fine Clothier alive and well in Richmond, Ambrogi expanded to offer new products, including a women’s department, run by his wife.

“That really helped make the whole business extremely fashionable because we were bringing fashion for women as well,” Ambrogi said. “[Our women’s clothing] was not the typical department store, look-alike clothing.”

Franco’s women’s clothing added European flair to some everyday American trends to set their products apart from everything sold at department stores. The women’s department closed about 10 years ago, when Ruth retired.

Ambrogi continues to keep up with the trends in the ever-changing men’s fashion world by travelling to New York, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Florence, and Milan for shows to see what’s new and to buy merchandise. Italy, for him, is the fashion capital of the world.

“[Italy] really [is] the trendy part of the world right now,” Ambrogi said. “Italian fashion is the one dictating what people are going to wear.”

To keep the men’s clothing merchandise interesting, Franco’s introduced its international menswear shop in 1992, broadening the international brands the company sold products from. Featuring sportswear, clothing, and accessories, the addition of the menswear shop appeals to a younger audience, opposed to Franco’s original older clientele base. Now Ambrogi seeks to make clothing for men of all ages.

“Once upon a time, men’s fashion did not change very rapidly…now, it does.” Ambrogi said. “We just go with the flow. There’s a time and place for everything [in fashion]. Today, it’s very important for people to wear according to what they need [the clothing] for.”

His store’s main goal is to keep up with two main types of fashion in men’s clothing right now – the young man with a more bold look, and the older, professional man with a traditional, conservative look.

And at 78 years old, Ambrogi isn’t ready to leave his company just yet. He’s handed the reins over to his son, Mark Ambrogi, daughter Maria Reardon, and son-in-law, Kevin Reardon, but you’ll find him at the flagship location everyday, making friends with all his customers and spreading love with a warm, Italian heart.